it.”
He raised his hands and closed his eyes. Without looking and never touching her, Arnie traced her head and shoulders. The path of his non-touch left a tingling sensation. This was a different kind of awareness.
Her eyes closed. She whimpered softly. Goose bumps gathered on her neck, and her nipples tightened.
“You have magic hands,” she moaned.
“I can feel your energy, Summer. Your life force.” His eyes opened, and she froze when his gaze snared hers. “And you very much want me to bite your nipples.”
Holy shit. Could he read her that well? Did he have special powers that let him see her desires?
Her impish, playful side took over. Whatever virginal awkwardness was left, if it even existed in the first place, was swept aside when she smirked and flashed him by lifting the hem of her sweater.
She giggled at the shock in his expression. “At last, there’s a reason for big boobs. These babies kept me from being a ballerina or a competing gymnast. Too top-heavy,” she drawled.
He held her eyes and slowly slid his hands under her sweater. She sucked in a breath as his exploratory touch climbed up her stomach and cupped her breasts.
A firebolt of manly desire hit her full on when a rumbling sound came out of his throat, and he growled, “Fuck.”
The things he did to her boobs with his fingers reduced Summer to a trembling mess. She moved on his lap and took delicious advantage of the way she straddled him.
Before long, she was on her back with one leg hooked around his waist. He pressed her into the sofa with his large body.
They kissed with greedy, animalistic hunger. His tongue swept her mouth and teased her until she followed his lead. His hunger and the strength of his lips drove her mad with want. Their tongue kissing sent waves of desire crashing through her. She clutched his hair and undulated beneath him with increasing desperation.
His chest heaved, and she felt a shudder move through him. The passion they ignited was fierce and demanding. They still had their clothes on—a situation she hoped was about to change.
All of a sudden, he wasn’t kissing her anymore. When they separated, she complained at the loss of closeness.
“No,” she whined.
“Sh, sh,” he whispered. “Come on, sit up.”
He offered his hand.
“Wha-what’s wrong?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. But we need to talk.”
“Aw, come on. Really? You want to talk now?”
“Jesus,” he ground out as he hauled her off the sofa and onto her feet. “You’re killing me, baby.”
Baby?
Baby?
She grinned. Baby was kind of cool.
“Let me guess,” she purred while biting her lip and audaciously invading his body space to stroke his torso. “You want me to behave, right?”
“Behave?” he scoffed. “Pfft! Hardly. We just need a logistics time-out.”
“A what?”
His answering smirk was so sexy she squeezed her thighs in reaction.
“Proper execution requires coordination and orchestration. Before we deploy our forces, we need a plan.”
She wagged her brows. “Will we be naked when these forces are deployed?” She grinned. “Because naked would be good, don’t you think?”
He covered his face with his hands and laughed. “Naked would be great but not here. We’re not doing it on a sofa.”
“Ohhh,” she replied when she finally understood. “I get it. Okay. Cool.”
Pointing toward the short hallway, she explained the apartment’s layout.
“Bathroom on the left. Bedroom on the right.”
“Condoms in the kitchen,” he remarked.
They looked at each other, and she asked, “Meet me in the bedroom?”
“Do not take your clothes off,” he growled. “I wanna do it.”
That was fine with her. The only reason she wanted to head to the bedroom first was to make sure she hadn’t left a breadcrumb trail of panties or anything else embarrassing.
Feeling like a teenage first-timer with a shot at the prom queen, Arnie hurried into the kitchen to retrieve the box of condoms. He grabbed the lube as well although he was ninety-nine percent positive it would not be needed.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the silky blindfold and shoved it in his pocket. He didn’t have a plan for it, but the expression on her face when she saw it told him he should get one.
In the living room, he did a security check. The front door was closed and locked. Nothing dangerous needed attention—no candles or anything like that.
His eyes swung to the hallway and fixed on the bedroom door. It was open, and he could hear Summer moving around the room.
Practicality knocked on his brain. He